


Unexpected visitor

by strangerthingswasntthatgood



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: F/F, mermaid, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:06:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26973373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangerthingswasntthatgood/pseuds/strangerthingswasntthatgood
Summary: Andy goes on one of her morning runs to watch the sunrise and her favorite spot by the cliff is already taken. Andy doesn't really mind, though, because not only has she made a new friend, she has also met the most beautiful creature in the entire world.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Quynh | Noriko
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was suggested by ihadafunnyideaforausername on Tumblr! I had a lot of fun writing this and might add another part. :)

It was just past four in the morning. Andy hadn’t been able to sleep anything. Her mattress was too soft and her cat was meowing constantly. Andy got up from the bed and grabbed a shirt, pulling it on as she made her way to the kitchen.

Her cat, an old shelter cat she called Trash, came running. His paws made a soft  _ pat, pat, pat  _ sound with every step he took. As Andy grabbed some water, Trash threw himself on the floor. Andy laughed softly and crouched to pet him for just a second. He began meowing again when she stopped.

“How can anything that small make that much noise, huh?” Andy asked, gently poking the cat with her foot. Trash immediately took her pinky in his mouth and Andy quickly pulled back. “That’s enough, Trash. Mommy’s going on a run, okay?”

Andy quickly pulled on a pair of shoes and a hoodie and left the apartment with loud, annoying sounds from the cat behind her. She shook her head and quickly ran down the stairs. If she hurried, she’d probably get to see the sunrise. 

She ran by the beach. It was her absolute favorite route this time of the year. The water was darker than during the summer and the ocean gave a nice breeze of chill air. Not to mention that she almost always had the beach to herself. Not a lot of people came here during the fall and winter months. Andy always passed her favorite coffee shop on her way home and she got to see children go to school together. And then there was the amusement of watching people put up Halloween and Christmas decorations.

The beach wasn’t very long. It didn’t take more than a few minutes to run from one side to the other, but there was a cliff perfect for watching the sunrise. It did take a few skilled jumps and some confidence, but it wasn’t as difficult to get on top of it as most seemed to think. Andy had never before seen anyone up there, which was why the first surprise was the fact that there was someone at all.

Andy stood at the edge of the cliff and just watched for a second. It took her almost a full minute before she realized it ( _ she _ , Andy corrected herself) had a tail. Then it took another few seconds for the shock to settle.

“Cool prop”, Andy said, finally. “Aren’t you cold, though?”

The woman moved with a grace Andy had never before seen. It wasn’t until now she got a proper look at her. She had silk black hair and behind the terror on her face, the woman seemed to have very kind eyes. Her tail was a deep red. Before Andy could say anything else, the woman had quickly moved closer to the water.

“Hey, no”, Andy held up her hands to show the other she wasn’t going to hurt her. “I just came to watch the sunset. I’ll leave if you want.”

It wasn’t until later that the real shock set in. Right now, she was just focused on not freaking the woman out any further. She slowly lowered her hands, even though the woman hadn’t moved. She held herself up with her hands, with most of her body in the water. Andy could only see her eyes and top of the head from where she was standing.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

The woman stayed quiet, but she slowly rose just enough for Andy to see her whole face again.

“Who are you?”

The woman watched her with wide eyes and Andy could tell she was ready to dive right back into the water at any sign of danger.

“Andromache”, Andy said and took a step forward. The woman sank a little lower again. “I live closeby. I run when I can’t sleep.”

Silence fell between them. Andy could hear a car somewhere in the distance. The woman glanced over her shoulder for just a second, before she turned right back to Andy again.

“I’m Quynh”, the woman sank lower in the water again and the sun gave her a golden halo. At that moment, Andy was pretty sure Quynh was an angel, too.

Andy took another step closer and when Quynh didn’t move, she walked up to her. She sat on the edge of the cliff, even though it soaked the tip of her shoes. Quynh watched her but didn’t say anything.

“I’ve seen crazier shit”, Andy promised and held out a hand, as if to greet the woman properly. “Call me Andy.”

Quynh furrowed her brows, but after a moment’s hesitation, she took Andy’s hand in hers. Her fingers were surprisingly warm in the chilly morning.

It took another ten minutes before Quynh dared to jump up on the cliff and sit next to Andy. They didn’t talk, but they sat together until the sun had fully risen and the sounds of the city were louder than the sounds from the ocean. Even though the sun gave some warmth, Andy was freezing her butt off. She had only meant to stay for a few minutes.

“I think it’s time for me to head back”, Andy said but didn’t move. She didn’t want to alarm the other. “This was nice, though. Thank you for letting me stay.”

Quynh didn’t speak immediately. She watched the waves and Andy couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about. Then, when Andy least expected it, she turned to meet her gaze.

“Will I see you again?”

Andy opened her mouth to reply, but Quynh was quicker.

“I’d like to see you again. I try to be here at this time. I can’t be if there are too many people around.”

Andy, who still hadn’t come up with anything clever to say, only nodded. This time, she held out her pinky. Quynh looked even more hesitant than before, but most of all she looked confused.

“This is how we make promises”, Andy winked her finger, then gently hooked Quynh’s pinky with hers. “We call them pinky promises. A pinky promise can’t be broken for anything in the world.”

Quynh, who still looked confused, but determined, gave a nod. She didn’t seem to know what to do with her pinky, though, and only pulled back when Andy did. Andy got up from where she sat and took a step back.

“I’ll see you around, Quynh.”

Quynh nodded again. For the first time, Andy got to see her smile and  _ holy shit _ . Andy’s heart must’ve stopped.

“Goodbye”, Quynh said, then, and pulled Andy from her daydreams. Andy watched as Quynh lowered herself in the water and before Andy knew it, the mermaid was gone. 

As silly as it might seem, Andy was already looking forward to the next time.


	2. Chapter 2

It took almost until the end of December until Andy met her again. Andy had been out almost every day since they first met, but it wasn’t until the 26th that they met. Quynh sat in the same place as she had last time and her hair had grown by almost an inch. Much like last time, her upper body was naked and only shielded by her hair. A necklace rested against her chest. 

“Hey, there”, Andy said, voice soft, as she tried to get Quynh’s attention. “Long time no see.”

Quynh turned around to look at her. Her face lit up in a smile, showing her teeth. Andy’s heart must’ve stopped, she was almost certain of it. She had just barely gotten out of bed and her heart was already weak.

“You’ve got a thicker jacket this time”, Quynh patted the place next to her. Andy sat down, but this time she didn’t put her feet in the water. It had taken three days before they had dried last time and Andy had gotten an awful cold. That’s what he got for being a useless lesbian, she thought.

“Yeah”, Andy replied, crossing her legs where she sat. Thankfully, her jacket covered her butt enough that she didn’t have to sit on the cold stone without some sort of protection. “It took hours to get my body temperature up last time.”

“You should’ve said.”

Andy laughed and shook her head. She didn’t mind. Last time had been nice and Andy hadn’t wanted it to end. It took almost a week before she really realized what had happened. Then, she had wondered if she had been sleepwalking or if her drinking habits had gotten so out of hand that she had taken to hallucinate. When she had found a small shell in her hoodie, even though she never picked up shells, she knew it hadn’t been a bizarre dream or hallucination. Now, the shell was placed on her bedside table.

Like last time, they sat in silence. The sun took a little longer to rise now, in the middle of winter. With a much thicker jacket, a pair of thick sweatpants, and a knitted scarf her grandmother had given her years ago, Andy didn’t mind. She wasn’t nearly as cold.

“I missed you”, Andy said, carefully. “I’ve come almost every day.”

Quynh’s face pulled up in a new smile. It made her look a little more human. When she didn’t smile, she looked so… cold. Her features were perfect, there wasn’t a flaw anywhere to be seen, much like a marble statue, but when she smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkled a little, a tiny flake was missing from one of her teeth and there was a dash of pink on her cheeks.

“Sorry”, Quynh said, as her smile slowly turned into a frown. “I’m not meant to speak to humans.”

“That’s alright”, Andy promised. “I understand that you’re busy.”

Andy stuck her hand into the pocket of her jacket, fiddling with a small box there. She wondered if Quynh would take it if Andy gave it to her. Andy had realized Quynh probably didn’t know anything about Christmas, but Andy had still thought about her when she had gotten gifts for everyone else. Nicky still insisted they got gifts for each other, even though Nile was the only one who hadn’t passed 30 yet. It was a lot of fun, to be honest. They all spoiled Nile, no matter what they all said.

“Have you watched the sunrise alone?”

It was Andy’s time to smile. She had watched the sunrise a lot by herself, both before and after she had met Quynh. She had even taken Trash when she first got him, but he had ended up hating the outdoors. Whenever she didn’t go out, she would stand by the window with him, though. He adored one of the windows, where he rested on the windowsill and soaked in the sun. 

“Yeah. How did you know?” Andy kept fiddling with the box in her pocket.

“I’ve seen you a few times. When there have been too many people around. I’ve wanted to come.”

“That’s a relief”, Andy joked softly. “I thought you might be able to tell the future.”

Quynh got her “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’ll pretend I do”-face and Andy couldn’t help but laugh. Quynh’s eyebrows furrowed further.

“Well, when… when humans talk of mermaids, sometimes they say you can tell the future.”

Quynh’s face changed from confusion to terror.

“You spoke of me?”

“No, no! I told you I wouldn’t, didn’t I?” Quynh slowly nodded. “But some people believe you exist and some people… Well, some people think you’re a myth or that there were mermaids before and some of those people… They say mermaids can see the future.”

Quynh stayed quiet for a moment. Her face had changed again. She didn’t look confused or scared but had a face Andy couldn’t really read.

“What else do they say about us?”

Andy thought for a second. She had never been much for myths or religion. It wasn’t her thing. She didn’t believe. She went to church once a year for Nicky and Nile’s sake. They always wanted to go to Midnight Mass. Even Joe went.

“Uh… Well, you’re supposedly immortal. Here, it’s believed that you’re bad luck. If a sailor sees a mermaid, bad luck will plague him. It’s also believed that...mermaids are cruel and use their beauty to lure sailors to their death”, Andy stopped to see what Quynh had to say. She didn’t say anything but watched Andy attentively. Andy stayed quiet for a moment longer, then turned to watch the sea as she continued. “They… They say a mermaid’s kiss will give you gills… either that or just the ability to breathe underwater.”

Silence fell between them. It wasn’t a bothered silence, but rather one where they both wondered over something they couldn’t phrase out loud. And Andy did wonder. She didn’t expect Quynh to drag her to the bottom of the ocean, but… Andy really did like Quynh. She supposed this was a little what it had been like for Nicky and Joe when they met. It had barely taken a week for them to get together and the second England legalized same sex marriages, they had married. They had only been together for two years at that point. Andy… understood that, now. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Quynh and she felt breathless whenever Quynh smiled. She didn’t care if they ended up together or not, as long as she was allowed to be  _ close _ to Quynh.

“I’m not bad luck”, Quynh said finally. “But I’ve never kissed a human. I don’t know if they’d be able to breathe underwater.”

Andy relaxed at that. She was glad Quynh hadn’t taken any offense.

“I don’t know a lot about myths and mythical creatures. There might be more and I might be wrong”, Andy replied, smiling softly. “Looks like the sun is up. I don’t want to take any more time of your day."

Andy moved as if to stand up when Quynh grabbed her wrist. Quynh’s fingers were soft but strong, and her fingernails were a lot longer than Andy’s were.

“Just ten more minutes”, Quynh said, voice still soft. “Please.”

Andy stopped moving, then. She moved a little closer to Quynh, who still had her fingers wrapped around Andy’s wrist.

“Aren’t you cold?” Andy asked. The thought hadn’t hit her until now. Quynh’s fingers weren’t cold, but they weren’t very warm, either.

“No”, Quynh replied. “If I’m cold, I make myself feel warmer.”

Andy hummed a reply, even though she had no idea how that worked. She had a faint recollection of her biology lessons in school and her teacher saying something about fish never being cold, but Andy wasn’t sure how it would work. She wouldn’t exactly say Quynh was a fish, either.

Quynh’s grip slowly softened on her wrist. Just as carefully, Andy gently placed her arm around Quynh’s shoulders. Quynh moved to rest against her and once again, Andy’s heart skipped a beat.

“Perhaps you should kiss me sometime”, Andy whispered playfully. “To see if it does give me gills.”

Quynh’s shoulders shook with laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly love this AU?????
> 
> Fish can control their blood flow which gives them the ability to feel warmer or colder to not freeze or boil to death. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I never thought I'd need the biology of fish for writing fanfictions lmao.


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